Multiple sexual partners and sexually transmitted infections among male youths (15-24) in Uganda

Abstract

This study examined the association between multiple sexual partners and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among male youths in Uganda. The study controlled for the influence of socio- economic and demographic characteristics of male youths. Sexually transmitted infection (STI status) was investigated as a composite index comprising of three questions namely. Ever had a STI? Ever had a genital sore and ever had a genital discharge? Data for the study was sourced from the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey comprising. 464 records of male youths aged 15-24. The analysis was done using the Chi-squared tests and the Complimentary log-log regression. In the results, 14.1% of the male youths reported having an STI or STI symptoms in the past 12 months prior to the survey. In the multivariable analysis, multiple sexual partnering, was significantly associated with status of STI among male youths in Uganda (p < 0.05). Other factors associated with STI were region and education level. In particular, the youths in the eastern region had increased risk of reporting a positive STI status compared to those in the central region. On the other hand, the characteristics namely age at first sex, religion, wealth quartile and type of place of residence were not significantly associated with the STI status (p > 0.05). The findings of this study demonstrate that youths with more than one sexual partner have an increasing risk of acquiring STI. To this end, more health education on the effect of multiple sexual partnering should be given to the youths for behavioral change. Programs that concentrate on the prevention of STIs among the male youths should be promoted since they have more multiple sexual partners than the female youths.